The gap between Luck and Holmgren's decision

The 2011 and 2012 NFL drafts were stuffed with quarterbacks who have played, or will. We rank them, as they are now, from a general manager's perspective.

If we had to guess at this point, we'd say Mike Pettine is the man if the announcement comes by Friday, and that the ball is in Dan Quinn's court if we get to the weekend.

Here's a link to why Quinn strikes the Browns' deep thinkers as the front-runner. It includes a few nuggets that might surprise you.

• • •How a GM might rank QBs from the 2011 and 2012 drafts now: 1, Andrew Luck, No. 1 overall, 20122, Cam Newton, No. 1, 20113, Russell Wilson, No. 75, 20114, Robert Griffin III, No. 2, 20125, Nick Foles, No. 88, 20126, Colin Kaepernick, No. 35, 20117, Ryan Tannehill, No. 8, 20128, Jake Locker, No. 8, 20119, Andy Dalton, No. 34, 201210, Christian Ponder, No. 12, 201111, Kirk Cousins, No. 102, 201112, Ryan Mallet, No. 74, 201113, Brandon Weeden, No. 22, 201214, Terrelle Pryor, Round 3 of the 2011 supplemental draft15, Brock Osweiler, No. 57, 201216, Blaine Gabbert, No. 10, 201117, Ryan Lindley, No. 185, 2011• Lindley is on the list simply because he was Arizona's injury-replacement starter for a short stretch in 2012. That's part of the reason the Titans Titans didn't hold Ken Whisenhunt's 5-11 record against him before oubidding the Lions for his coaching services.• Kaepernick became a suspect with yesterday's poor showing at Seattle. Few young QBs could stand up to the pressure he was under in that venue on such a big stage. He wasn't one of them.• The perception of Dalton went from sirloin steak to fried baloney in his playoff game.It's an interesting list, full of QBs who have played or might yet play, from only two drafts.The 13th-ranked QB says a lot about why the Browns have been where they have been.You wonder? Was Mike Holmgren that far wrong? Has the coaching completely missed with Weeden? Will the next coach think he sees something he can salvage? For now, the answer is: Holmgren was that far wrong.• • •